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Due to recent events (as in the death of Queen Elizabeth II), I am going to swerve a little bit away from Elizabeth Woodville, back to her daughter, Elizabeth of York. As previously discussed in past blog posts (AKA Elizabeth of York: The KISS Edition and Did Elizabeth of York and Henry VII Have a Happy Marriage), many considered Elizabeth of York to be Edward IV’s heir, especially with the disappearance of the Princes of the Tower. However, she was relegated to the position of Queen Consort to Henry VII. So, here is the million-dollar question: should Elizabeth of York been the first Queen Elizabeth to rule in her own right, making the now late Queen Elizabeth II actually Elizabeth III?

In An Ideal World…

Yes. Elizabeth of York had the best claim to the throne. Full stop. Many of Henry VII’s supporters were actually Elizabeth of York’s supporters. It was his promise to marry Elizabeth of York that made him more eligible to the English throne than his own bloodline. 

Henry VII’s primary claim to the throne (despite being the nephew of Henry VI) was through his mother, Margaret Beaufort. Margaret Beaufort was the great-granddaughter of John of Gaunt, who was the son of Edward III and the father of Henry IV. She was descended from the side of the family that began as the illegitimate children of John of Gaunt and Kathryn Swynford who were then legitimized when John and Kathryn later married. By the end of the War of the Roses, despite being a woman (as everybody were sexist pigs back then) and a member of the Beaufort family, she had the most legitimate claim to the throne of the remaining Lancasters.

Two Potential Queens; One Throne

So pretty much, there were two women who had a claim to the throne (as Henry VII was basically Margaret’s proxy): Margaret Beaufort and Elizabeth of York. Out of the two of them, Elizabeth  of York had the better claim. How could she not? The last three kings were her father, her brother, and her uncle. Margaret, on the other hand, was only a distant relative to the last Lancaster king, Henry VI. Her own claim was tenuous at best, much less her sons.

Elizabeth of York Should Have Been Elizabeth I

Despite being a woman, Elizabeth of York had the best claim to the throne after the death of Richard III. Two of the last three kings were in her immediate family and the other was her uncle. Henry VII was only able to gather enough support to launch a realistic campaign for the throne by promising to marry her. Not to mention, Henry VII knew that she had a better claim so he delayed their marriage and even her coronation after their marriage in order to assert his dominance. She was allowed very little power because her mere presence in the political arena was dangerous for Henry VII’s reign.

In conclusion, Elizabeth of York should have been Elizabeth I, the first Queen of England to rule in her own right. That would have made the late Elizabeth II actually Elizabeth III.

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Author	Source Name
Alison Weir	The War of the Roses.
Alison Weir	Elizabeth of York: A Tudor and Her World.
Dan Jones	The War of the Roses: The Fall of the Plantagenets and the Rise of the Tudors.
Lisa Hilton	Queens Consort: England’s Medieval Queens from Eleanor of Aquitaine to Elizabeth of York.
Sarah Gristwood	Blood Sisters: The Women Behind the War of the Roses.
Roland Hui	The Turbulent Crown: The Story of the Tudor Queens.
Leanda de Lisle	Tudor: Passion. Manipulation. Murder. The Story of England’s Most Notorious Family.